Envy the Time When We're Together
by Kimikashi1161
Summary: stuff. rated M for future chapter references, k?


Envy the Time when We're Together

Chapter One

Once again, you couldn't bear the thought of having to walk everywhere. 'It must be my sleepy conscious talking itself into going back to bed again,' you thought. Well, time to go waste money on yet another Mocha Frappuccino from Starbucks.

It's not that you didn't _love _the stuff, but you really despised having to get up in the morning. Especially on a Saturday.

You didn't need to say goodbye to anyone as you walked out the door. Your brother was already working, and your little sister was taking a nap; the nanny was watching over her.

This new job seemed to be nicely to your liking so far – of course, you had to get a new one. You moved.

Since your old house was getting a little too expensive, your brother gathered up enough profits to move you and your sister to a cute little town in the more southern part of Japan; Karakura Town.

You walked into Starbucks and ordered your favorite coffee. It tasted so good as you walked down the hot summer sidewalks in your graphic tee, knee-length basketball shorts, and knee-high black converse. You had your shoulder-length, dark violet hair up in a ponytail, with your white bangs created an 'M' shape on your face.

You would rather prefer a job that revolves around music, but this part-time job at the local clinic wasn't too bad either. Helping people wasn't something you didn't mind doing.

You were rather nervous, though. It was basically your first day on the job, and since over-reacting was one of your specialties, you couldn't help but imagine yourself getting fired.

'No, pull yourself together, Kimi!' You thought. 'Keep these thoughts in mind and you'll jinx yourself… again…' You sighed as you realized you were already in front of the building. You checked your watch: 7am. Right on time.

The bell jingled as you entered the establishment. "H…Hello?" you called out.

You could hear loud footsteps quickly approaching. You dodged him just in time.

Oh yeah, you almost forgot. Your boss is kinda crazy… hahah. You found it kinda adorable, like most things.

"Hello, Kimikoami Amaya!" the man shouted somewhat loud. "Welcome to your new job!"

"Well, hello… um…" 'Crap! I already forgot his name!' you mentally face-palmed yourself.

"Oh, of course. You can just call me Mr. Kurosaki. Or, since you're basically part of my family now," he wrapped his arm around your shoulders. "You can call me 'dad'! Yeah! That sounds perfect!"

"A-alright… U-Ue-Sama…"

"Good Enough!" the man shouted. The next thing you knew, his head was being bashed into the nearest wall by a foot.

"Shut up, will ya! I'm tryin to sleep! Do you know how early it is?!"

"I'm trying to show around my new assistant! You should look up to her as a role model, son! She gets up earlier than you, and _you're _the one complaining!"

"Che." The angry youth looked down at you. It's true you two were probably somewhere around the same age, but you were only 5' 1". He looked 5' 11" or more, so there was an obvious difference.

"Sorry for the disturbance," he said. "My name is Ichigo Kurosaki." He held out his large hand. You were afraid to shake it at first.

You held out your trembling hand. "M…my n-name… my name… i-it's…" The boy looked at you in confusion.

"Come now, Ichigo! You're scaring my new assistant!" Mr. Kurosaki stood back up. He patted you on the back and led you into the next room. This seemed to make the boy – Ichigo… mad.

"What the hell did I do?!" he seemed to yell at his dad, like it was his fault.

You turned around swiftly. "I-I'm sorry!" you bowed down, hoping the tears welling up would go away.

It's not your fault you hate men. Your father was pretty abusive, and the only one you can trust is your brother. He was barely able to take care of you and your sister when your dad killed your mom and then himself. It was something you didn't like to think about.

The next thing you knew, you looked up to Ichigo. He seemed surprised to see tears in your eyes when you looked up.

"Look, it's my fault. I'm sorry," he apologized gruffly. You nodded.

"Alright Kimi, let's go get you in your new uniform. After today, you'll be able to take it with you." Mr. Kurosaki led you into the closest bathroom and handed you the uniform. You closed the door behind him and unfolded your outfit to get a better look at it.

It wasn't too bad. A nice black knee-length pleated skirt and a nice white blouse with a pretty low v-neck; upon closer inspection, the outfit came with a grey spaghetti strap undershirt. Ah.

You put on the outfit, along with keeping on your converse. They seemed okay with the dress code, which was great because they were your favorite pair of shoes. Your brother got them for you.

You also took the ponytail down and brushed your hair through. You thought it went perfect with your lime green eyes that sparkled in the sunlight.

You put a white headband on, but kept your bangs in your face. You liked it best that way. You're brother always objected, but you didn't care what he said. It was your hair, and you could do whatever you wanted with it.

People usually made fun of your eyes anyway, so it didn't matter if having them gone was more beautiful or not. Being made fun of definitely wasn't something you enjoyed.

All people ever did was make fun of you, for whatever reason they could create – whether it be that my eyes were weird, or my hair was 'dyed', or I was really shy… you didn't want to think about that right now. You had to be all happy for your job, so you tried your best and put your serious face on.

You put your clothes in your bag and set it in the corner of the bathroom. You stepped out into the hallway and found Mr. Kurosaki in the living room, talking to Ichigo and two other girls.

"…and girls, don't talk to strangers. And all of you, be safe – especially you, Ichigo-"

"Yeah yeah, I know already!" He jumped off the couch and ran out the door. "See ya!"

"I guess we should go, too!" the brown haired one squealed. "Come on, Karin!"

"H-hold on, Yuzu…" the black haired one slowly rose and attempted to follow her excited sister. You took another step into the living room once they left. The floor creaked, causing Mr. Kurosaki to turn around and notice you.

"Ah, sorry," he rubbed the back of his head. "I was just telling my kids goodbye before they left… so, let's start, shall we?"

"Alright!" you said with whatever excitement you could muster.

"That's what I like to hear!" Mr. Kurosaki said. "Now, you're job might be a little intense at times. I will be on car duty, so when I leave you'll have to look at any patients here by yourself. Think you can handle it?" he said.

"O-of course!" you said, unsure. You were trying your best to trust the man himself…

"Awesome! Because I _just_ got a call!"

"…huh?..."

"So, there are patients in rooms three and seventeen. The patient in room three is a little girl, so be sure to keep her company. And the woman in the seventeenth room usually needs company as well…her daughter is the girl, so she's always worried about her. If she asks, tell her she's doing just fine, no matter what. I don't want her in critical condition."

"U-understood, Ue-sama!"

"I'm off!" he called as he slammed the door.

'Phew,' you thought. 'Only girls. I'm glad I don't have to deal with any men, yet.' You were about to head upstairs when you notice something on the table. You see that Mr. Kurosaki forgot to give you your nametag. You pin it into your shirt and head upstairs.

The little girl was blonde and adorable, and from the sign hanging on the door, you could see her name was 'Ira Marume'. You carefully stepped in, cautious in case she was asleep. You soon found out she wasn't.

"Hello?" you said. She looked at you with chocolate eyes and smiled. "Hi!" This made you grin.

"Hi, I'll be looking after you for a while," you said with a fake smile.

"Oh, ok…" the girl seemed to ponder something. "So, is my brother okay?"

'Brother?' you thought. 'I don't know if she even has a brother, or if he's dead or alive…'

"Um…" the girl looked at you with confused eyes. "Y-yeah, he's okay…" It's so hard to lie.

"Oh, okay!" the girl said. She smiled, but she didn't seem happy. You decided to try and make her feel better.

"So…" you sat down in a chair. "What is your brother like?"

"He's big. He's big, and black, and he wears a mask." You were surprised and confused by the girls words. They were somewhat mind-boggling.

"C-can you tell me more about him?"

"He didn't mean to do it. He didn't mean to do it." The girl kept on repeating this, over and over.

"Didn't mean to do what?" You interrupted.

The girl slowly turned her head to come into eye contact with you. "He hurt mommy. But he didn't mean it…" she had pain in her eyes. "He didn't mean to hurt mommy, or me… he's nice… brother is nice… onii-chan…." She lowered her head. You slowly stood up and walked towards her.

"Are you okay?" You asked. You placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You shouldn't have touched me. Now he's coming. He's coming for you." This girl was obviously traumatized. You helped her lay back down and placed a warm cloth on her head. She was asleep in a few minutes. 'I better check on the mom,' you thought.

"Ichigo, there's a hollow nearby," Rukia snapped her cellphone closed. Ichigo ran to the nearest alley and used his substitute soul reaper pass to release his soul. "Watch my body!"

"You're welcome!" Rukia called after him.

Ichigo followed the spiritual pressure traces that the hollow left out, making it obvious where it was going.

"At this rate, it'll be going towards…"

(Author's POV)

Kimi walked down the hallway, towards door 17. She slowly opened it; the mom was asleep.

'The girl looks just like her mom, but I can't tell if the eyes are the same or not,' she noticed.

Kimi closed the door behind her, not thinking she could be of anymore use; both of the patients were asleep. She headed downstairs to go ahead and get used to her surroundings.

After inspecting the living room, kitchen, and dining room, she got bored and decided to look at the clock. It was already 9 am.

'Mr. Kurosaki left at 7:30,' she thought to herself. 'I wonder how he's doing?'

She heard footsteps upstairs and headed up there to see who was awake. She noticed that Ira's door was open – she must have gotten lonely.

Kimi wandered down the halls and found the mother's room was open as well. Maybe she entered, looking for her mother.

Kimi walked in and found the girl looking at her asleep mom, her back to the door.

"Hey Ira, why don't we head back to your room?" Ira didn't even flinch at Kimi's voice.

She turned her head, enough to look at Kimi. "He's here."

There was a loud crash sound from downstairs. "What was that?!" Kimi yelled.

"It's brother," Ira said with a smile. "And he's here to get you. Didn't I tell you earlier?"

Kimi ran over to Ira and her mom. "Come on Ira, get on the other side of your bed! I'll close the curtain so they can't see you." Ira did as she was told and Kimi closed the curtain halfway around the bed.

"I'll be back, okay? Don't go anywhere!" Kimi ran down the corridor.

"It's useless," Ira mumbled. "He's here to kill you."

Kimi scrambled downstairs, but couldn't see anyone. There was a decent sized hole in the wall, but no people.

"Come out!" She pulled her self-defensive survival flip knife out of her left shoe. "Show yourself!"

The next thing she knew, something invisible threw her across the room. She let out a short scream of pain as her body slammed into the wall.

Kimi coughed up a little blood, and looked up to see something she couldn't see before; she understood why.

It was some monster… black, with a weird white mask… She remembered what Ira told her with a gasp. 'He's big, and black, and wears a mask…'

Could Ira possibly be talking about this beast in front of her? How did she know about this?!

Kimi couldn't believe what she was seeing. She tried to stand up, but felt a sudden pain in her chest. She looked down to see a chain… where did this come from, she wondered.

She followed the chain to see… herself?! The other her was bleeding profusely out her back… but the Kimi that wasn't seemingly dead was breathing heavily.

What the hell is going on?!

Kimi stood up and faced the monster with a strong face. She refused to cry in the face of danger; it proves you're weaker than your opponent.

The simple act of standing was taking away all of her energy. Her breathing rapidly grew, causing her to pant and shiver as she took her first step. Her chest tingled and her back hurt like hell, but she held her ground. She slowly picked up her pace, and eventually was just a few feet away from the black monster with menacing red eyes.

"Come on! I'm not afraid!" Kimi trembled as she lifted her arms without fear; she was ready for what was coming. She didn't care about her future, so what's keeping her from deciding her own present?

The monster slowly approached; it lifted its large, clawed hand - covered in her own blood - in the air. She closed her eyes and slightly lowered her head. 'This must be… the end…'

She looked up when she didn't feel the impact. She suddenly felt a different presence… it was warmer, and it embraced her whole being in its grasp. She felt the ching of two weapons clashing.

She didn't want to leave this comforting feeling; it was nice, something she had never felt before…

She finally looked up to see bright orange. Someone was carrying her… who was it…

Did it matter…? This felt so good… maybe, she could rest… for a little…

But something was keeping her from doing that… a weird noise. What was this? It was disturbing her peace. She opened her eyes back up; the person was looking down at her. The noises became clearer and clearer…

"…up! Don't die on me, wake up!"

Kimi took a large gasp of air, continuing her heavy breathing. She looked back up, at a familiar face…

She wasn't surprised when it was Ichigo. After all she's seen so far, anything could be thrown at her and she wouldn't be shocked.

"Are you okay?!" he shouted. Kimi looked up at him and gave him a fake smile.

"Y-yeah… I'm fine…" Kimi felt extremely light-headed, ready to pass out at any moment; but she felt like passing out wouldn't be the best idea.

"Don't fall asleep… I'll protect you…" Ichigo looked back up at the beast. Kimi noticed he had on a black cloak of sorts, and was wielding a small black katana. There was a weird black presence surrounding him…

It was becoming extremely hard to breathe for Kimi. She was now taking in air through quick, sharp breaths.

Ichigo continued to slash at the beast. Watching, worrying, paying attention to the fight ensuing was the only thing keeping Kimi alive.

She grabbed her chest in pain. How much longer would she be able to keep this up? It didn't seem like very long, the way this was going…

"I…Ichigo…" He looked down at Kimi in surprise and worry. He noticed how hard it was for her to continue living.

"Why are you worrying about me? We didn't get off very well, and now you're saving my life… my life isn't worth saving-"

"Just shut up and let me save you already!" Kimi looked up in surprise at Ichigo. His face was full of anguish and guilt… did he feel bad for everything that had happened?

Kimi rested her head back into Ichigo. She knew that her duty was to stay alive… for his sake… anything to help someone…

Ichigo went in for the finishing blow, slashing the monster clean in half, making it disappear into nowhere. He landed on the ground and placed Kimi next to her original body.

Kimi gasped a few times in a row before slowing down her breathing. Her eyes slowly closed…

"Kimi! KIMI!"

(Kimi's POV)

I saw nothing but white. Was I in heaven…? I wouldn't be sad. It was expected, after what happened.

But, Onee-chan… and Nii-san… they would be so lonely…

I quickly rose up, sweating slightly. I looked at my surroundings; I seemed to be in one of the rooms in the clinic. I felt a presence on my left – it was Ichigo, sleeping. His head was bundled up in his arms… kinda cute, in my opinion…

"So I'm alive…" I mumbled. "I wonder how…?" I felt hot tears roll down my face.

I felt a rustle to see that I had accidentally woken up Ichigo. He was slowly rising his head.

I gasped and lay back down, covering my face in the sheets. I could feel him stand, and hear him sigh. The next thing I knew, I heard a door close.

I uncovered my face… he left. Why did I hide? Didn't I trust him?

I rose, and stepped out of my bed. My back ached, and I noticed I had bandages wrapped around me. I was also wearing a nightgown.

I silently opened the door and snuck down the hallway. I couldn't exactly remember what direction to go, but I soon ended up near the end of the hallway. The only room that seemed to be occupied was 15; without thinking, I walked in.

There wasn't anyone in it, but it was someone's bedroom. The bed sheets were a nice blue, and there was a desk on the side of the room, against the wall. There was a closet across from the bed.

There was a nice window with a beautiful view outside of it. I slowly climbed onto the bed without thinking, to get a better view. It was sunset… It made my eyes water even further. I slowly raised my hand and touched the glass, like it would connect me to the blending colors.

"Kimi?" I heard a voice behind me, which startled me, making me fall off the bed. I rubbed my head, and opened my eyes to see a stretched out hand. It was fairly large, and seemed familiar.

I grabbed it without hesitation. The hand helped me up, and I adjusted my nightgown. It had ridden up from falling off the bed.

"Are you alright?" I looked up to see who was talking to me. It was Ichigo. Unlike normal, I didn't crawl into a corner. I was kind of intimidated by his presence, though.

"I-I'm fine…" I could feel the blush corrupt my face. I looked towards the floor in embarrassment.

"I'm glad you're alright… for a second there I thought you were a goner…" I looked back up to see Ichigo. He was worried… about me? Well of course, I mean he did save me and all… but this feeling was new… not even my brother had time to care for me… so I didn't know how to react.

"Oh, um, gomen… for making you worry, and all-"

I felt him grab my shoulders and shake me a little. With startled eyes, I gave him eye contact. At first I thought he was angry… but maybe that's how he deals with things?

"Stop apologizing! You didn't… do anything… So just cheer up already!" He couldn't help but look away. I guess he isn't very good at giving motivational speeches, when he thinks about it…

Without realizing it, I began to cry. 'Why?! Why why why why why! Sure he yelled at me, but it was nice! Stop overreacting, me!'

Ichigo turned back towards me and gave an exasperated look. "W-what did I do?! I-i…" He didn't seem to know what to do in any emotional situation. You giggled.

"Silly, I'm just…" I closed my eyes, but I could feel him look back at me. "I'm just… really happy…"

"You're weird." I look back up and started to instinctively cry from the hurt again.

"N-no! I didn't mean it - just don't cry… okay…?!" Ichigo seemed flustered once again. It was cute to see him when he didn't know what to do. I should do this more often, just to enjoy myself.

"I-I'm sorry… I'm just sensitive, is all," I wiped my eyes and looked back up at the moron. He had a grin on his face now.

"Good!" he exclaimed.

Suddenly, his closet door slammed open, causing not only me, but Ichigo as was to flinch. I accidentally let out a small scream.

"Ichigo! Hollow!" Who is this black-haired girl? I have never met her before. Why was she in his closet?!

"Uh, hi…" I mumbled. Wait, why is she looking at me like _I'm _the crazy one? She came out of his closet!

Heh… came out of the closet…

Oh yeah. I'm a random girl she's never met before, in Ichigo's room, in a nightgown. That reveals. A LOT.

Not that I like them, but my upper torso measurement is, well, over adequate.

What?! I didn't get surgery or anything, I was born like this! I get made because of it enough anyway… I should continue talking about the current situation now. Yeah. I'll do that.

So anyway, I could tell right off the bat she wasn't afraid to speak her mind when she said, "So Ichigo, I didn't know you had a girlfriend. Especially since I didn't know you had it in you."

"W-what?!" he exclaimed. I think his face was as red as mine. That's a shock. "D-don't jump to conclusions, Rukia! S-she's just, just my-"

"I'm his friend!" I interrupted. I didn't want the conversation to get too out of hand, so I just _had _to say it… you know?

"So, you know… hi, Rukia, my name's Kimikoami Kashi." I tried my best to smile while to two just stared at me. It was quite an uncomfortable situation.

The girl stuck out her hand formally and gave a reassuring smile. "Why hello, my name is Rukia Kuchiki. I am currently living in the Kurosaki residence. If you don't mind, would you step into the hallway while Ichigo and I have a dignified convorsa-"

"She knows, Rukia." Rukia seemed to just be stuck with the same expression for quite a while. I didn't know what she was thinking about; until she kicked Ichigo across the room.

"You MORON! I knew you sucked at keeping secrets!"

"It's not _my_ fault, I saved her life! If I hadn't shown up, she probably would've died!"

"I sure there was a more secluded way to go about this situation!"

"Her spirit was knocked out of her body! She could even see the hollow! So STOP blaming me for everything and CONTINUE WITH THE CONVERSATION!"

"FINE!" Rukia humphed while Ichigo che'd and turned his head around and closed his eyes in defiance; which of course led to him crossing his arms as well.

"So anyway, there's a hollow sighting near the park, and I need you to go and exterminate it."

"Fine… but next time, ask more questions! And don't jump to conclusions!" He held a wooden item up to his chest, and a different him popped out, leaping out the window. His earthly body plopped onto his bed.

"W-where is he going?" I asked. This whole shenanigan was confusing.

"He's going to fight a hollow, what else?" I guess I gave Rukia a very puzzled look because she then pulled out a notebook and pen and started sketching it out for me. I thought the pictures were cute, so I didn't pay much attention. I did get the jest of the conversation, thought. Hollows were bad, and Ichigo is something called a Soul Reaper who fights them and sends them to a heaven-like place called the soul society, unless they commited crimes when they were alive, then they were sent to hell. And I'm pretty sure she said something about the chain that was on me… that is was my spirit chain, or something, and that if it disappeared, I would be a hollow… and that's how they're created. At least the whole thing wasn't as complicated as how babies are made. Because then it wouldn't just be an awkward conversation.

By the time she was done talking – she talks as much as I think to myself – Ichigo had returned from his 'trip'. He formed with his original body and stood up, brushing himself off.

"I'm glad you're back safe, I-Ichigo," you said, blushing at the ground. I waited for an answer; when I didn't receive one, I slowly lifted my head. I was surprised to see Ichigo with such an expression. He looked like he might cry… I felt bad for him…

"You're such an idiot," he murmured. "Why are you the happy one? You almost died…" He turned his head away.

"I-I'm, I…" What is a girl _supposed_ to do in this kind of situation…?! I guess it didn't matter: the next thing I knew, I was being pushed forward. I landed into the carrot top, and went ahead and wrapped my arms around him.

"I'll try to not make you worry about me again… I won't instinctively put myself in danger… if that makes you happy…"

I looked up to see Ichigo turn his head back towards me… I guess he felt like the weak one, the way the conversation was going. He gripped me tightly, as I was engulfed into his being.

Both of our body warmths connected like opposite sides of a magnet… I could smell guy shampoo on his shirt, I love that smell. I could stay like this forever, as long as it was Ichigo…

I flinched when I started to feel him release me. To avoid utter embarrassment, I released when he did.

He gave me a weak smile, and I smiled back. I'm glad that we were friends… having friends felt really nice…definitely ten times better than being lonely.

"Hey Kimi, where do you live?" Rukia asked. I turned towards her shyly.

"Um, a few blocks down…"

"Why don't you walk by this place in the morning so we can walk to school together… when it starts back up? It's next week, right?"

"Next week…? Don't you mean two weeks from now?"

"Oh yeah…" Rukia stopped herself and chuckled nonchalantly. "You see, you've been asleep for a while…"

"What?!" I gasped. "Nii-san must be worried!"

"It's okay, Kimi." I turned back towards Rukia desperately. "I heard from Mr. Kurosaki. He contacted your family and told them your situation. They said sorry for not being able to visit-"

I found the closest piece of scrap paper and pencil (off of his desk) and wrote down my number. "Text me later, ok Rukia?" I ran out the door. I returned to my room and found my clothes lying in the closet. I rushed to put them back on, and folded the nightgown I was wearing, placing it on the bed. I ran out the front door and down the sunset-lit sidewalks towards my house.

I rushed up the stone steps and slammed the door open. Inside, my brother seemed to be reading a book to my sister in the living room. Utter shock came over their faces when they saw me. My eyes welled up with tears. My sister leaped out of my brother's lap. "Onee~~!" she wailed. I hugged her with all my might, then looked at my brother, who was now standing. "Kimi," he mumbled. I stood and ran to him. I tackled him in a hug as we slightly tumbled.

"I'm home… Onii-chan…" I said through tears. I could feel my brother pat my head and chuckle slightly as I dug my face further into him. I couldn't wait until school started; that was for sure.


End file.
